A third round of retaliatory strikes by the U.S. in Syria resulted in the death of an Al-Qaeda-affiliated leader, who officials say had a direct tie to the Islamic State member responsible for last month’s ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country.

U.S. Central Command announced that the strike in northwest Syria on Friday (January 16, 2026) killed Bilal Hasan al-Jasim, who they claim was “an experienced terrorist leader who plotted attacks and was directly connected” to the December 13 attack that killed Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard and civilian interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat.

“The death of a terrorist operative linked to the deaths of three Americans demonstrates our resolve in pursuing terrorists who attack our forces,” Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said in a statement. “There is no safe place for those who conduct, plot, or inspire attacks on American citizens and our warfighters. We will find you.”

It was the latest strike as part of a broader US operation ordered by President Donald Trump following the ambush of the Americans to target “ISIS thugs” trying to regroup after the ouster of autocratic leader Bashar Assad a year ago.

The Republican President has stressed that Syria was fighting alongside American troops, as the U.S. military is expanding its cooperation with security forces as part of a coalition fighting the militant group. He added at the time that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa was “extremely angry and disturbed by this attack.”

CENTCOM said that the operation, titled “Hawkeye Strike,” has resulted in U.S. and partners like Jordan and Syria targeting more than 100 Islamic State infrastructure and weapons site targets.

U.S. and allied forces carried out “large-scale” strikes against the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria on Saturday (January 10, 2026), the U.S. military said, the latest response to an attack last month that killed three Americans.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military forces in the region, said multiple strikes “targeted ISIS throughout Syria,” using an acronym for the jihadist group.

CENTCOM’s post on X did not give specifics on where they took place.

Grainy aerial video accompanying the post showed several separate explosions, apparently in rural areas.

The strikes were part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, which was launched “in direct response to the deadly ISIS attack on U.S. and Syrian forces in Palmyra,” CENTCOM said.

Jordan’s air force also carried out targeted air strikes against IS as part of the operation, its military said on Sunday (January 11).

Watch: US launches fresh airstrikes on ISIS in Syria after deadly ambush

It said in a statement it struck “a number of targets… in several areas within Syria territory”.

Two U.S. soldiers and a U.S. civilian interpreter were killed on December 13 after a lone gunman — whom Washington described as an IS militant — ambushed them in Palmyra, home to UNESCO-listed ancient ruins and once controlled by the jihadist group.

Syria’s interior Ministry later said the gunman was a member of the security forces who had been set to be fired for extremism.

“We will never forget, and never relent,” U;S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday in a post on X, replying to the CENTCOM statement.

The United States and Jordan carried out a round of strikes last month in response to the Palmyra attack, with CENTCOM saying at the time that “more than 70 targets” had been hit.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, later reported those strikes killed at least five IS members, including a cell leader.

On January 3, Britain and France announced joint strikes targeting an underground facility they said IS had likely used to store weapons.

The U.S. personnel targeted in Palmyra were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the international effort to combat IS, which seized swaths of Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014.

The jihadists were ultimately defeated by local ground forces backed by international air strikes and other support, but IS still has a presence in Syria, especially in the country’s vast desert.

U.S. President Donald Trump has long been skeptical of Washington’s presence in Syria, ordering the withdrawal of troops during his first term but ultimately leaving American forces in the country.

The Pentagon announced in April that the United States would halve the number of U.S. personnel in Syria in the following months, while U.S. envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said in June that Washington would eventually reduce its bases in the country to one.